Not a good week for Gov. Tom Wolf

HARRISBURG — Since being sworn in to office Jan. 20, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf often has said he is not a dictator. But Republican lawmakers say some of Wolf's actions show he thinks his rule is absolute.

And some of Wolf's executive decisions blew up in recent days with a string of courtroom and political losses that left Republicans elated and the administration seeking damage control. The first-term governor, pundits say, has to ensure the mounting Capitol losses do not mushroom into bigger problems that damage his public image and hurt his ability to get his budget priorities approved.

That is especially critical because of the historically significant — and increasingly confident — Republican majorities that control the House and Senate, the latter of which is acting increasingly hostile and litigious.

"He's taken some political knocks this week, but I think they are fairly common for any administration," said Chris Borick, Muhlenberg College political science professor and pollster. "What's important for Wolf and his team is to keep an eye on the big picture, and the big picture means the budget."

Some of the knocks Wolf has taken this week:

•On Thursday, the administration backtracked from a letter the Department of Labor and Industry sent to about two dozen state-funded agencies that help disabled individuals. The letter, which the administration called an unauthorized "mistake" and Rep. Mauree Gingrich, R-Lebanon, called "fear-mongering," warned the agencies they would lose money if a budget is not approved by July 1, according to Capitolwire, an online news service.

•Also Wednesday, the House voted 119-71 in favor of a resolution condemning Wolf for issuing a death penalty moratorium earlier this year. Eleven Democrats voted for the resolution, with all but seven Republicans voting with the majority.

•On Monday, the Senate, on a near party-line vote, rejected Wolf's nominee for state police commissioner, Marcus Brown, forcing Wolf to keep him on as "acting commissioner," which elicited a lawsuit threat from Republicans.

A week earlier, Wolf suffered perhaps his biggest embarrassing moment of his tenure.

On June 1, the House unanimously rejected the revenue taxing component of Wolf's $33.8 billion budget. The vote took place after Republicans would not let Democrats vote on the expense side of the budget, which includes Wolf's plans to spend an additional $500 million on public schools.

After all House Democrats sided with Republicans, Wolf called a Capitol news conference and labeled the vote a meaningless "political stunt." In his own news conference, House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, called the vote bipartisan proof Wolf's budget is "unrealistic and unsupported," which could empower Republicans to pass their own spending plan that Wolf would have to sign or veto.

The June 1 vote didn't have to happen. Republicans warned Wolf and House Democrats that they would call for a tax vote if Democrats sought a vote on the expense side of the budget. Democrats did it anyway, and Republicans stuck to their word.

The string of losses is a combination of self-inflicted wounds and the governor's attempt to protect himself from Republicans who are testing him, said Wilkes University political science professor Thomas Baldino.

Wolf beat Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in the November election because he ran a great campaign that billed himself as a pragmatic problem-solver, Baldino added. A lot of Wolf's votes were anti-Corbett votes, Baldino said, and he needs to practice the pragmatism he preached to be successful.

He can show Republican lawmakers and the public he is a pragmatic leader by dropping the appeal of the open records lawsuit and finding a new police commissioner so he can focus on important budget issues, Baldino said. Firing Erik Arneson as open records director was probably a fight Wolf did not need to wage, he said. Keeping Brown when Republicans clearly were not going to support him was a rookie mistake, he added.

"Just admit your mistakes and move on," Baldino said.

Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan scoffed at the notion the governor had a bad week. The death penalty resolution will not deter the governor from continuing to issue reprieves until the Senate's Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment finishes its study on whether the death penalty is fairly meted out, Sheridan said.

The vast majority of the public does not know who Arneson is, Sheridan added. But the administration is appealing the Commonwealth Court decision to protect the power of the executive branch of government from a lawsuit initiated by Arneson and Senate Republicans, he said.

More people might know Brown's name, and that is because he was the victim of a political smear campaign, Sheridan said. Brown is qualified to lead the state police and Wolf will keep him in that role, he said.

While Republicans or the media say Wolf took his lumps, he has continued to serve Pennsylvanians by waiving a fee for background checks that volunteers had to pay to work with children. Wolf also secured federal approval to lift tax penalties for families that receive certain types of state-backed health insurance for their children.

"One week does not define Gov. Wolf, and he remains focused on what matters to Pennsylvania," Sheridan said.

Earlier in the week, Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the Senate is reviewing its legal options to see if the vote against Brown requires Wolf to drop him. But Corman said the Brown vote has not been discussed in budget talks with Wolf.

The open records lawsuit was not filed because Wolf is a Democrat, said Drew Crompton, the Senate Republicans' top lawyer, adding they once sued Corbett over spending cuts to the Legislature's budget. The open records lawsuit was filed because they believed the governor overstepped his legal right to fire Arneson and the court proved them correct.

"We don't have the ability to control when Commonwealth Court put out this decision," Crompton said. "The fact it was running on the same week as Marcus Brown … timing isn't our problem."